A Maiden Out of Time
by Genital WarThunder
Summary: When Pyrrha fell to Cinder, she expected death, not to wake up in a new world, memories in pieces and on the verge of death. Saved by a passing huntsman, it's up to the Champion of Mistral to survive, reclaim her memories and return to Jaune and her team. But with new threats rising and a Kingdom in chaos, can Pyrrha find a way home? Or does such a way exist at all?(Cover by MRK50)
1. Lazarus Rising

_What happens when we die?_

_Paradise in the Golden City?_

_Eternal Hunt in the Gray Forest? _

_Torment in the Black Depths?_

_Or something else?_

The last thing she remembered was an intense heat ripping her body apart. She was thrown into a roaring maelstrom and tossed around violently before being spat into one of the Eleven Rivers. Then she felt cold, colder than cold, her blood began to freeze. The skies were hidden by a haunting murky mist, the ground was under a similar fog. She floated along the river until falling over the edge and into The Void. A vast emptiness of nothingness without shape or form. She floated for so long the rivers disappeared and darkness consumed everything she saw.

"Death…" a voice gurgled from the emptiness, "Is not your destiny today…"

* * *

**Chapter 1****: **_Lazarus Rising_

Leafless trees were scattered across the Great Snow Sea. He had uncovered a couple patches of grass in hopes of luring a Metal Stag out of hiding.

Thane wore fur lined boiled black leather, a mask over his mouth and nose, and a hooded white fur cloak. He knelt in the snow and felt some small indents in the snow.

"Tracks." he whispered.

He whistled and a three-headed pup came to his side. He tapped his foot three times next to the tracks, the Cerberus sniffed and took off.

He wrapped the cloak around himself and hid beside a boulder. His bow was as white as the snow with red points on each end. He pulled back the arrow and held his position. A thin layer of snow fell upon him, completing his disguise.

A sharp snap from the forest alerted him. His irises flickered white and his arrow was coated with a matching flame. He focused on the barking, then he saw the metal antlers, and he let his arrow fly.

"Nice work, hunter." Thane fished a handful of treats from a pouch under his cloak. He threw the handful into the air and the three heads began catching them midair.

He put his thumb and index finger in his mouth and let out a sharp whistle that echoed across the forest. Soon enough a tall ebony steed with a fiery red mane joined them. Strapped to the saddle were ten dead rabbits.

He went right for the stag, he had to gut it before it started to bloat. First, he exposed the pelvic bone, then from the neck down he cut the hide all the way to the exposed bone. Second was cutting the abdominal wall without piercing the stomach, with two fingers under the thin membrane, he lifted and began to gingerly cut until the internals were revealed. He broke the pelvis making a clean path for the organs to slide out. Next was cutting the sternum in half and pulled out the sack containing the heart. Placing it aside he continued the process. Lastly was cutting the windpipe and diaphragm.

Now it was just a matter of pulling the guts clean out of the carcass. Gripping the windpipe, he slowly pulled everything out at once. He cut off the liver and kidneys and stored them with the heart.

"Now." Thane told Hunter, and he dove for the pile of meat discarded. He pulled three linen sheets from the saddle bags, wrapped up the organs he put aside, then tied the carcass by the legs to the back of the saddle.

"Hey, hey, hey!" He scolded as he returned to see left and right eating but pushing middle out of the way. "Let middle in there! Middle doesn't eat, no one eats." They understood that, and all three of them began eating. "That's better."

"Hunter." He looked down at the Cerberus licking the snow with blood stains. "Time to go home."

Hunter stood up and stretched then barked; Thane turned to see all three heads pointing at the sky. Thane looked up and saw his falcon flying in circles.

"Interesting." He watched his bird, "Come on." He hefted himself onto the saddle, "Let's go see what Fenix has found."

Hunter took off immediately while Thane followed behind. The three stopped just before the clearing. He tried to get them moving but they refused. He looked up and Fenix came to his arm. He brushed the snow on his hood and tried to get him to enter the clearing. Instead Fenix jumped on the saddle.

Thane dismounted and entered the clearing. He could see now why they refused to enter. The trees were laid down, uprooted even, as if they were blown back. The snow on the ground was evenly flat the only disturbance were his own footsteps, no animals nor wind disturbances. He continued forward and found a woman?

He dashed to her side and made a shocking discovery, she was naked! Her hair was as long as her body, sprawled onto the ground, and dark as blood. Thane was fooled for a second and thought she was lying in a pool of her own blood. Her skin was paler than the snow, except her hands and feet. They were as black as his steed.

"Damn." Thane sighed and looked away from her, "Another victim of the frost."

She gasped and Thane jumped. He knelt to see if he was hallucinating, and he saw her chest rising and falling. She was alive! He quickly tore his cloak off and wrapped her in it. He picked her up and carried her over to his horse. The horse tried to back away.

"Hey!" Thane snapped, "She's alive and needs help!"

The horse refused to go near her. He grabbed the reins and yanked the horse closer; he laid the woman on the saddle and hauled himself up. He kept one hand on her back steadying her against the stubborn steed's bucks. He dug his heels into the horse's flank. "Hyha! Ride! The faster we get home, the faster she's off you!"

Thane's Home-Away-From-Home, five acres of land surrounded by ten feet high stone walls, and in the far-right corner was the two-story Hunting Lodge. The moment he passed through the gates, he hitched his horse, and lifted her off its back. The horse neighed the moment she was off its back.

"Oh, quiet you." Thane scoffed, "I'll get the rest off you later."

Thane laid the woman on a settee in front the cooking station over a fire pit. Now that he was home, he grabbed a proper blanked and pillow from the linen closet. As he was exchanging the cloak for the blanket, he noticed a rather disfiguring scar in the center of her chest, and a horrible burn on her right cheek. She didn't sound like she was in any pain; her chest rose and fell as if she were having a peaceful dream.

There wasn't much left he could do for her now. He went back outside and began to skin and clean today's haul. He placed the stag and seven rabbits in the ice house. The three he didn't store, he placed in the smoke house. He laid the meat down, returned outside, and started a fire in a small box. The box had an opening to feed the fire without letting snow in, and the roof of said box funneled the smoke directly into the shack.

Three hours had passed before Thane made it back inside the Hunting Lodge. The woman was still fast asleep on the settee. He set the meat on a nearby counter and began to prepare his supper. He smoked an extra rabbit in case she awoke.

He oiled a pan then added some shallots, turnips, garlic, and a little sugar. He crushed up some juniper berries, black pepper corn, and chopped some rosemary; then combined the three bowls into the cauldron over the fire.

Next was some red wine, chicken stock; as Thane walked to the cupboard he took another look at the woman still fast asleep. He grabbed some dark chocolate, broke it up, and mixed it all together. Lastly was some parsley, then he mixed them all up and began to stir the stew. He poured himself a bowl and took a seat across from the woman. He threw a log into the fire before he began to eat his supper. Before he took the first spoonful into his mouth, he saw her begin to stir.

"You're awake." He smiled, "How about that." She tried to sit up, but Thane rushed to her side, "Whoa, easy there. Easy. You've been out cold…moons know how long you've been in the forest."

"F-Forest?" she croaked.

"Here." Thane untied the waterskin on his belt and handed it to her, "Why don't you relax a second, get your bearings?"

She drank greedily until she coughed, "T-Thank you."

"You're welcome." He smiled, "Do you mind telling me why you're in the middle of the woods, during First Snow, naked as the day you were born?"

She lifted the blanket then tightly wrapped herself in it with a furious blush, "I-I don't know."

"Okay, how about those scars?"

She looked down and ran her fingers over the scar on her chest, then she stared in horror at her black hands. Her mouth opened and closed repeatedly but no sound came out.

"Okay…" Thane took her hand in his, "We don't have to talk about that. How about your name? Can you tell me your name?"

She shook her head, "I can't remember that either!"

"Really? That's troublesome. Let's focus on your recovery before we go back there?" Thane calmed her down seeing that she was on the verge of a full-on panic attack, "How about some food? I just made some stew."

"O-Okay…" She nodded.

Thane smiled and poured her a bowl. With shaky hands she got a spoonful in her mouth. He began eating his and sat back in his chair.

"What is this?" she asked.

"Rabbit. First Snow is the best time to hunt rabbit. I got lucky the other day found some Metal Stag tracks. Caught him and cleaned him today."

"You're a hunter?" she asked.

"Hunter, Cook, Animal Tamer, Warrior, Prince."

"Prince?" She tilted her head.

It was his turn to be surprised, "Yeah? I'm Prince Thane Stormheart?" She continued to stare at him, "My father is Stanley Stormheart? King of the Metallands?" She shook her head, "Wow, that's some serious amnesia, Carmine."

"Carmine?"

"Well, you need a name, don't you? I can't just call you Lady or girl, can I?"

"Okay, but why Carmine?"

"Your hair of course." Thane pointed with his spoon, "I don't even think my sisters have that shade of red."

'Carmine' looked at her crimson locks, "I guess it'll do until I remember my real name." She grabbed the ladle in the cauldron and refilled her bowl, "So, if you're a Prince, where's your castle?"

"Technically it's my family's castle." He clarified, "And it's about a week that-a-way." Thane pointed at the wall behind her. "That's before First Snow; if we tried to leave now it would probably take two weeks? Maybe more, I never tried going back with this much snow on the ground."

"So, what do you do?"

"I hunt." He shrugged, "I leave Stormhaven right when First Snow begins, and I leave when the trails clear. When I do, I load up my carriage with all I've gathered, and I store them in Stormhaven's larders. Since you're going to be here a while, why not come with?"

"What?"

"Well, what else are you going to do?"

"Try to find out who I am."

"How do you propose to do that?"

Carmine looked at her stew hoping he wouldn't press. When she glanced up, he was still staring.

"How about this?" Thane proposed, "My little sisters are witches. You help me with my hunts, and I'll take you to them, see if they can do anything about your missing memories. Deal?"

"I don't really have much of a choice, do I?"

"You always have a choice." he answered, then stood up, "The days are shorter after First Snow. You can finish the stew if you'd like. Get some rest, or more rest, we'll head out at sunrise."

Carmine nodded and got comfortable on the settee.

"Uh…" Thane raised a finger to the stairs, "I have a spare bedroom, and some nightwear. They're mine, so, they might be a little big on you. But at least it's something."

"Thank you, Thane." Carmine wrapped the blanket around her and followed him up the stairs. He opened the door revealing a small single feather bed. He rummaged through a nearby wardrobe and gave her a cotton shirt and pants.

"The pants don't fit." Carmine handed them back to him, "But the shirt's long enough to cover the important bits."

Thane opened his eyes, "Well, I suppose that's what counts. Shall I wake you?"

"With food like earlier? Of course."

"Nice to know you have a sense of humor. Goodnight Carmine."

"Goodnight Thane." Carmine closed the door and crawled into bed. It didn't take her long to fall asleep again.

* * *

Morning came in an instant.

Carmine had hoped a dream would give her a hint of her past. Her hopes were rewarded with a dreamless sleep.

She stretched until her joints and spine popped, then kicked her feet over the side. She stared at her black feet and wiggled her toes. She could feel the stone floor's scratchy textures on each toe. She reached down and caressed the stones, she could feel everything she touched, but why did she look…dead?

Carmine came downstairs and saw Thane looking over an assortment of armors. She looked on the table nearby and saw a steaming bowl of stew and an empty bowl next to it.

"Venison this time." Thane said, "That metal stag I caught yesterday smoked to perfection. If I do say so myself."

Carmine grabbed her breakfast and went to his side, "So, what's all this?"

"I brought all my leather armors when I built the lodge." Thane explained, "I should have something that'll fit you. Even if they are a little big, they all have fur sewn into the lining, giving you an extra layer."

Carmine tried on a pair of pants that were loose. She did a practice kick and rotated her hips before taking them off. One pair was too tight, she couldn't get her leg into the air. Finally, she settled on a pair that was tight enough to not get caught on anything and loose enough to give her full movement.

Thane's curiosity had been piqued, he went to the storage closest and grabbed a bow, "Heads up." He threw it at her, and she caught it without looking, "My dear Carmine, you had my curiosity, now you have my attention."

"What do you…?" Carmine realized she had the bow in her hand, "Whoa."

"Your memories may be gone." Thane handed her a quiver of arrows with steel heads, "But your muscles haven't forgotten."

"How does that make any sense?"

Rather than answer, Thane drew a dagger and thrust it at Carmine. Her response was to drop the bow. Her right-hand blocked Thane's wrist, and her left slapped it out of his hand and sent it across the room.

"How did I do that?" Carmine stared at her hands.

"You have a warrior's training." Thane rotated his wrist, "It's not a complete answer but it's a clue as to who you are."

"How did you know?" she asked grabbing the bow.

"I watched you trying on the armors. The ones you picked allow for full motion and won't snag on anything. I wonder what you'll pick when we get to a proper forge. Another piece of the puzzle."

"Oh?"

"You really hate bows."

"What?" Carmine was surprised to hear that. Thane pointed at her hand, and when she opened her palm the wood was splintered and it snapped in half, "Interesting."

"Oh?" It was Thane's turn to be surprised.

"I think it was what killed me." Carmine stared at the bow.

"That's a bold proclamation."

Carmine's hand hovered over the scar on her chest, "I can feel it…a bow did this to me…"

"Okay." He grabbed the bow, "Perhaps we shouldn't work on the bow…"

"No." Carmine shook her head, "I'm going to find whoever did this and do the same to her."

Thane flicked her forehead, "That is the dumbest thing I've heard. This person killed you and you want to kill them in some twisted sense of poetic justice?"

"I can't just let who ever did this get away with killing me!"

"How far do you honestly think you'll get? They've already killed you once, do you really think they won't hesitate to kill you again?" He paused and sighed, Carmine grit her teeth, and begrudgingly nodded, "You need a clearer head and a better form. Come on, we'll start your trining now."

"What about hunting?"

"We'll do that tomorrow." He grabbed a different bow from the shed, "I can't have you hunting with a form like that."

"What's wrong with my form?"

"You have the basics." Thane acknowledged, "But your form is saying that you learned the basics then moved on to another weapon style. On the one hand, we have an extensive armory in Stormhaven, perfect place to find your personal weapon. On the other hand, the basics won't get you far enough."

"So, you know every weapon in the armory I take it?" She asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"Aye. My days were spent in the training yard, my evenings in the library. All royalty must know how to defend themselves. First, give me that bow."

Carmine tossed the remains to Thane and he tossed them into the fire pit. He tossed a different bow at her, this one had a knuckle duster in the middle, the wood was sturdier, leather reinforcing the wood, and the string practically hummed with anticipation.

"Alright, show me what you can do." Thane stood next to her a pointed at a bale of hay with a red circle in the middle.

Carmine readied an arrow.

"Relax your grip. Allow the bow to rest in your palm."

Carmine fired the arrow and it hit the outer rim of the target.

"Try again. This time lay the arrow on the other side. It'll save you a second on the reload. Fire."

This time Carmine hit the red ring. Thane tapped her quiver and she hit the red ring again. Carmine growled and fired a second arrow hitting the inner yellow ring. She grit her teeth and fired again hitting the red center, but not the direct center. With her sixth shot she finally hit the dead center.

"Yes!" Carmine cheered.

"Someone's competitive." Thane pulled the arrows out of the target, "I know archers who'd give their eye for a score like that."

Thane went to the supply shed and came out with a metal pole with a pulley attached to it. At the end of the pulley was a large metal bowl. He dumped a long-rusted iron chain into the bowl and motioned for Carmine to join him.

"What's this?" She asked.

"This will strengthen your firing arm. Hold onto the pole with your bow arm and pull the rope in the same motion as if you were firing an arrow."

Carmine did as instructed.

"Perfect." Thane nodded, "I am going to go hunt. Keep doing this until I return." He had expected some defiance in his statement, he was genuinely surprised when she began pulling the rope.

* * *

He was surprised when he left, when he returned several hours later and saw Carmine still pulling the rope all previous expectations had been shattered.

"Time to clean the rabbits." he announced.

Carmine dropped the bucket and walked over to the cleaning station. Thane noticed her arm barely move. No sign of fatigue in the slightest, almost as if she'd done rigorous training before. This only solidified his first assumption.

"Do you know how to clean a rabbit?" He asked handing her an apron. Carmine looked at him with a playful glare, "Oh yeah. Just watch and imitate."

Thane took a pinch of fur in his fingers and cut a notch at the base of the neck. From there he inserted two fingers and peeled off the lower half of fur like a glove. Flipping it over he removed the rest of the fur off the body. Carmine grabbed her own rabbit and did the same.

"Usually the tail stays on, but you just got to…" he ripped the tail off and tossed it into a nearby bucket. He popped the joints in each leg and tossed the severed feet into the same bucket. "If you can't snap the feet off, there's a spare knife over there. Then comes the head." With one swift motion he twisted the head clean off and then tossed that into the same bucket. Carmine twisted but her head didn't come off, she grabbed the spare and decapitated the rabbit.

He grabbed a small knife and cut at the base of the sternum and began to cut. He used his index and middle finger to lift the loose skin and cut away. "Here's a nice little trick when you're cleaning rabbit or any animal for that matter. When you get to the bottom, so, you don't snip the bladder or intestines, use your fingers to pull everything up. Then use your knife to split the pelvis." Thane lifted the carcass into the air, "After that, just pull everything out. Grab the heart, and peel everything away. They'll go right down the path you made when you cut open the pelvis."

Carmine was unflinching as she did exactly what Thane did. She had the carcass in her hand, she grabbed the heart and ripped out everything.

"Good. Next time don't rip everything out, you might rupture one of the organs and spoil the meat. Gently peel everything out."

"But it's faster if I just yank everything out."

"There's the fast way, and there's the right way. There's a reason it's called: "First Snow", the later ones are deadly. It gets so cold men and animals freeze and die in their own homes, winds tear your skin faster than any sword, the suns vanish for weeks without end. Animals flee for their lives, food becomes scarce, one screw up could result in days or weeks without food. There's the fast way, and there's the right way."

Carmine stared at her rabbit, "I'm sorry."

Thane shook his head, "I went a little overboard. My father once said: "Being a king is like being a parent, only you have thousands of children." I can't protect them all, I know…I just…I don't know…I don't want them to starve."

Carmine grabbed Thane's shoulder, and flashed him a reassuring smile, "We won't let them. Now, what's next?"

Thane nodded then showed the empty body to Carmine, "This is why First Snow is the best time to hunt rabbit. They still have plenty of fat on them. This next part I can't stress enough, use your knife to examine the liver, don't touch it with your bare hands."

"What am I looking for?" Carmine asked running her knife over the rabbit's liver.

"Rabbit Fever." Thane examined his rabbit's guts, "It can kill a grown man. The way to find it is to check the liver for white spots."

Carmine examined the liver, flipped it over and kept going, "I don't see any."

"Then your rabbit is clean. As is mine. Now to cut away the meat."

Thane grabbed a different knife and cut off the hind legs, shoulders, and the saddle.

"I like to cook it on the bone. You can take the bones out, but to me you lose more meat that way."

He threw the guts into a different bucket and the meat he took to a shack right next to the Cleaning Station.

"Two down." Thane returned to the Cleaning Station, "Eight to go."

* * *

After Thane and Carmine smoked the two they first cleaned, they packed the rest in the ice-house. Thane grabbed the bucket of heads and feet and went to the walls. He began throwing them over the edge and waited. He smiled when he saw the wolves come out of the shadows and begin eating the scraps.

"Why did you do that?" Carmine asked.

"Never use the head." He said, "Besides if I feed the wolves, then they aren't out hunting when we are."

"That works?"

"It has so far." Thane knocked on the bucket before grabbing the one full of guts.

"More?"

"No, these are for the falcons." Thane led her to the Falconry Mews, "They're trained to one eat the rabbit during the hunt, so we feed them after we cleaned them."

He held the meat in the palm of his hand and slowly extended it to the falcons. There were seven unmoving falcons staring at them from their posts. Carmine laid down seven piles of meat then shut the cage, there was a sharp whistle from Thane and they flew down simultaneously and began to eat.

"Their synchronization is incredible."

"Wait till you see Stormhaven's Beastmaster." Thane chuckled as they returned to the lodge, "Haven't met a creature she can't tame."

"Thane?" Carmine asked as they prepared their dinner, "Earlier…you sounded angry…"

"There was a winter many years ago, was the worst anyone had seen in their lives. First Snow trapped us in, the wind was so cold it froze any who were caught in it no matter how many layers they had, and the suns vanished until Spring. So many people starved. Many more died trying to find food. Parents killed their children so they wouldn't see that fate…"

Carmine gasped.

"I was too young to do anything." Thane shook his head, "I know I can't control the weather…I just…I just know that when the real winter comes, the more packed the larders, the better chance we have of everybody coming out alive. I know it's foolish to think I can protect everyone."

"Protecting someone is not foolish." Carmine sharply answered.

Thane was surprised at her answer. He smiled and resumed his dinner, his smiling never fading.

"Can I hunt tomorrow?" She asked.

"If that's what you desire."

"What I desire is to know who the hell I am." Carmine mocked, "But hunting will do till then."

* * *

Thane and Carmine trekked through the woods bows in hand. Carmine took point and kept her eyes glued to the ground. She raised her fist and Thane stopped immediately.

"What did you find?" Thane asked.

"Tracks." Carmine pulled out a leather-bound journal he had given her. She flipped through the pages of different paw and hoof prints, "Same size as deer, but the pattern's different. Boar?"

"Maybe." He examined the tracks, "What do we do next?"

"Find it, hunt it, and kill it."

"Was that a question?"

Carmine nodded and readied her bow; Thane followed close behind. He looked up and saw his falcon diving. He really needed to send Stormheaven's BeastMaster a fruit basket, for training his falcons to hunt smaller animals while he hunted the bigger game. She even trained them to drop the smaller carcasses onto the hooks built into his steed's saddle.

A twig snapped alerting the two of them almost immediately. They slammed their backs together and drew an arrow. There was more snapping and in rapid succession too. Suddenly, bursting through the tree line was a bear. Black as night and taller than the two of them standing on each other's shoulders.

"Oh! You're a big boy aren't you!" Thane guffawed, He opened his palm and without a second passing, a great sword wider than his hand and almost as tall as him was in his hand.

"Oh, because that's fair." Carmine scoffed gesturing at her bow.

He chuckled and the two of them took formation. Thane swung his sword and Carmine jumped back and fired an arrow. The arrow gained the bear's attention and began toward Carmine.

He grit his teeth and gripped the handle with both hands setting the blade aflame with white fire. He began waving it around in the hopes of distracting the bear. Carmine gulped, what she was about to do was asinine to say the least, she jumped into the air, and with the bow's knuckle duster, she punched the bear to look at him.

With a new target the bar began toward him. With a smile plastered on his face he waited for the incoming attack. Carmine couldn't help but copy his infectious smile. She pulled back an arrow and her eyes became dry.

Soon enough her eyes began to sting and throb so much Carmine was afraid her eyes were going to burst from her skull. She closed her eyes and tried to rub the pain away, when that didn't work, she grabbed a handful of snow and rubbed that in.

When she opened her eyes, she wasn't in the same woods. These trees were in full bloom with blood red leaves. The bear was covered in white bone armor, with bone spikes protruding from its hide. Then she looked at Thane. He was a foot shorter? Was his hair always blonde? He wasn't wearing armor when he left, was he?

Thane gripped his sword tighter and began to feed white lightning into the flames. The bear stood on its hind legs and roared, it readied its claws and prepared to strike. With a roar of his own Thane surged forward and swung with all his might and severed the bear's head.

With that final act, Carmine's delusion was over. The bear began to fall over, but with that, she remembered something…

"Haha!" Thane cheered as he caught the head.

Carmine rocked back and forth before falling into the snow.

"Carmine!" He rushed to her side and lifted her head off the ground.

"Pyrrha." She could barely keep her eyes open, "My name…it's Pyrrha." She passed out in his arms.

Thane shook her but she was out cold, "Shit."

* * *

**A/N: This story is under comic construction!  
Please go to the Genital WarThunder P/a/treon to support the illustrator and I.**


	2. A Stranger in a Strange Land

**Chapter 2****:** _A Stranger in a Strange Land_

Blinking her eyes slowly, the rays of the rising sun woke her up once again her mind in a daze, immediately gasping for water. She was in a bed this time, and on the nightstand was a pitcher of water. Taking it, she drank until she coughed, and once her breathing returned to normal, slumped into the bed. What happened? All she got were static images. The more she tried to focus on them, the further they distorted and slipped away.

"Thane?" she called out sitting up, looking down she was still wearing the same shirt she had been given to sleep in.

"Carmine?" Thane entered. "I was wondering when you were going to wake up."

"How long has it been?"

Thane blew a raspberry and brought her a tray of toasted bread, cooked squirrel meat, golden eggs, and milk. "27 hours? I thought the bear knocked you out, so I brought you back here to recover while I finished the hunt. But when you didn't wake up the rest of the night and the following day, I began to worry."

"I'm sorry." Carmine began to eat her breakfast, "I don't know what happened. I think I remembered something, but when I try to focus on it, it slips away."

"You told me your name before you took your nap." Thane pulled a chair next to the bed, "You said: 'Pyrrha'."

"Pyrrha?" she repeated, "That's my name?"

"You told me, so, I guess, Pyrrha." Thane examined her reaction.

"It does sound more appropriate than "Carmine." Pyrrha admitted, "At least something good came out of this whole debacle."

"Optimistic one, aren't you?" Thane sarcastically stated dropping a box in her lap.

Pyrrha opened the box to find the bear head. She pulled it out revealing it to be part of a pauldron. The head was the topmost layer with three green metal pieces underneath. The strap wrapped around her chest and a second smaller strap wrapped around her other shoulder and clipped itself back to the main strap.

"Two good things came out of it." Thane stood up, "I'll start loading the carriage and then we'll head to Stormhaven."

Pyrrha finished her breakfast, strapped on her new pauldron, and ran downstairs. Thane was outside putting tiny leather helmets on the falcons before placing them in smaller cages and into the carriage.

The carriage had six wheels and was at least half a carriage longer than a normal one. It was packed with pelts, furs, and chests full of ice and salt. Hunter was in his own cage with a bed for the bottom, curled into a ball sleeping away. The seven falcons were resting in their cages with hoods on. The final cage had several pups in it.

"Wait…" Pyrrha looked at the pelts in the corner, "Are those?"

"Yep."

"How could you?"

"Have you ever seen a starving wolf in the winter? They go weeks without food, and when they finally get some, they eat till they're sick. End up puking up what they just eat, and then going another several weeks without a meal. Those pups would've starved. Now, they're going to Stormhaven where the BeastMaster will find them a proper home. Or raise them herself, she loves taking care of orphaned animals."

"Does she have a name?" Pyrrha looked at the pups. Admittedly orphaned and alive was a better than starving in the cold. "Or is her name literally BeastMaster?"

"Tyrande." Thane anchored a gate to the back of the carriage then took the reins of the four horses ready to pull it.

"Does she have a last name?" Pyrrha took the seat next to Thane.

Thane shook his head, "She was brought to our doorstep. The woman who brought her said she found her abandoned in the woods."

"What happened to the woman who brought the baby?"

"She was very insistent on helping to raise her. Don't know why. It wasn't her baby."

"How do you know? What if she lied? Only said she found her in the woods to hide the fact it was hers and she'd been kicked out of her home?"

"First off she'd be lying to royalty. Second, that's way too convoluted to come up with if you're running away in the cold. Third, Tyrande had no matching features. Course, we didn't know that at the time but when she grew up, it was unmistakable, especially when she grew her horns."

"Is it always cold?"

"We're the northern most kingdom." Thane shrugged, "We get blizzards in the summer." Thane undid his cloak and wrapped it around Pyrrha, "The woman who brought her stayed to raise her, eventually she began to help mother raise my siblings and I. She makes these tiny hard cakes smaller than your hand. Soften them up when you dunk them in milk, she cuts chocolate into tiny pieces and mixes them into the dough. She was better than any of the handmaidens. She's a natural with kids everybody calls her: "Ma." Even mother."

"Add her to the list."

"What list?"

"List of people I have to meet." Pyrrha leaned back into the carriage, "Your parents, sisters, Tyrande, and now Ma."

"I think you'll like her. She's a little out of it with her age, fair warning."

"How so?" They finally made it out of the woods and into the open plains.

"What I mean about Ma though, she'll randomly start talking about her grandchildren." Thane pulled his hood and mask down revealing his face.

"What's wrong with that?"

"She doesn't have any. Tyrande doesn't have any kids either."

"Oh, why are you still wearing that fake beard?"

"I'm not?" Thane puzzlingly looked at her. Pyrrha squinted her eyes at his beard. He leaned over to her and motioned for her to pull it. Thinking it was still a joke, she grabbed a handful, and pulled. "T-Told you." Thane rubbed his chin trying to hide the pain.

"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha threw away the handful of facial hair.

"You say `Sorry` a lot you know?" Thane shrugged it off, "Get some sleep, I'll wake you when we get to the halfway point."

"Why not go all the way?"

"Horses need rest too, and while we're there, I can sell off some of these pelts."

Pyrrha nodded and closed her eyes.

* * *

Pyrrha woke up with her head on Thane's shoulder, she rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms above her head. She opened her eyes and her jaw hit the floor when she saw the colossal watchtowers and twin gates dwarfing the tree line.

"Welcome to Nutubu." Thane introduced, "We are officially in the Metallands. About 90% of the trade south of the border comes through Nutubu."

"And the other 10%?"

"There are four port towns in each corner of the Metallands. Skallganess, Skalaholt, Skalgii, and Skalmarkelda. Normally they'd see as much traffic as Nutubu, but frozen waters aren't exactly conducive to their trade. However, Nutubu's canals all connect to the other four. So, traders sail in sell their goods, then sail back."

Once through the gates they where on a stone bridge, Pyrrha looked over the edge to see crystal clear waters teeming with fish, schooners, pentaconters, and biremes. Following the canals, she saw triremes and galleons waiting for the smaller vessels to return.

"Okay." Thane brought the carriage to a stop. He fished out a coin purse from an easily accessible trunk and handed it to Pyrrha. "I'll offload the furs, if you wanna walk around town, meet back here in an hour?"

Pyrrha opened the coin purse and saw at least one-hundred gold coins.

"Will you be okay on your own?"

"I'd rather stretch my legs for a while."

"Okay, meet back here in an hour?"

"Um…Thane? I've never been here before…or at least none of this feels familiar…"

"I had an inkling about that." Thane pulled a scroll from one of his bags, "So, I dug this up." He opened it revealing a map of the city. "We are right here in the trade district. To my right is Old Town, where you'll find the tavern and the inns. Northeast is the Dwarven Maker District for all your arms and armor needs. Directly North is the Moon Temple, the Sun Cathedrals were torn down during the rebellion. Northwest is the Park; I would take Hunter there all the time when he was a puppy. Finally, directly west is the Arcane Districts for all your spell casting tools."

"Such as?"

"Wands, spell books, potions, some of the rarer ingredients."

"Rare?"

Thane shrugged, "Angel feathers, Tears of a Dragon, Grains from the Sands of Time. Which reminds me, I need to go there before we leave."

"I think I'll just stay here…" Pyrrha weakly smiled. The ink on the map began to distort and the Trade District expanded, and the names of shops became clearer. She tied the bag to her belt and stepped off the carriage.

"If you say so." Thane hefted the bundle of wolf furs over his shoulder and walked over to the local blacksmith.

"Lost my dear?" a man called out to her.

Pyrrha turned around and saw a man sitting at a table. He wore a clean black nobleman's coat, a top hat with tiny skulls around the crown, and a pair of stained-glass bifocals. But what stood out to Pyrrha the most however, was his skin. It was darker than the midnight sky, with white paint resembling a skeleton over his face and hands, she assumed it was over his whole body.

"I'm sorry?"

"You seem a little lost." He spoke with a thick accent the cadence of his words, different from Thane's more regal dialect.

"I am new here."

"Want to know your future?"

"Are you saying you're a fortune teller?"

The man smiled and laid three decks onto the table, "Choose." Pyrrha examined each deck, but they all looked the same. "Don't think about it, just react." Pyrrha picked one up and handed it to him. "The Deck of Love? Interested in someone are we?"

"Wait what?!" Pyrrha blushed.

Love was the last thing on her mind, smiling blonde man.

"The cards don't lie my dear. Your heart, your soul, they yearn for love. Let's see what we find out, shuffle the cards." Pyrrha did so, and the Fortune Teller cut the deck into three smaller decks, "Now pick a deck."

Pyrrha grabbed the first one she saw this time. The Fortune Teller spread the cards out on the table. "Now choose six cards." Pyrrha did so and waited for him to clear off the ones she didn't pick.

"Now what?"

"Now we read the cards. First is You." The first card was of a woman with an elephant's head upside down, "Judgement is Reversed. Judgement cannot shed her past. She has become ensnared in self-doubt and flagellation. Do not be too hard on yourself. Mistakes will be made-what matters is how you learn from them."

"Second is your Future or Current partner." The card was a dragon with swords in each claw, in both wings, and one in its mouth. This was upside down too. "The Seven of Swords Reversed. You may be running away from a difficult situation instead of facing your demons head on. It is time to try a direct approach. Avoiding the situation will only make it worse."

"Third, the Bond Between You." It was a rat holding a pentagram in its mouth. This was the first card that was right side up, "Aces of Pentacles Upright. You may soon experience good luck in the realm of finances – windfalls. New opportunities, and rewards abound. Welcome this prosperity with open arms. Now could be the time to make your dreams a reality."

"Fourth, your Relationship Strengths." This card was upside down again. It was of a woman wearing an owl-like dress, her entire head covered by the owl's face. "The High Priestess Reversed. The High Priestess stands between you and your inner self, blocking the way forward. Be careful of losing touch with your intuition. Do not close your mind to the world's mysteries."

"Fifth, your Relationship Weaknesses." This card was of a dragon laying on a horde of gold, upside-down. "The King of Swords Reversed. The King of Swords uses his mind to manipulate others, exerting his absolute authority over them. Be wary of those who hide behind their intellect. Eventually they will fall victim to their own games."

"Finally, the Future of your relationship." The Fortune Teller gasped when he revealed the upright card. It was of a white human body with a goat head. Its horns were black, a third eye in the middle of its forehead, and all three were red. Its body was bound in chains. "The Devil Upright. The Devil knows there is power in perception. He binds those who cannot see their path to freedom. Shake off his veil: you are not trapped. There is always a way out if even the darkest of places."

"What…what if you don't know how?"

"Hmmm." The Fortune Teller stroked his chin careful not to erase the paint. He twirled the gold coin on his knuckles before flicking it into the air with his thumb. The coin landed on the steps of a shop with a potion sitting on an open book as the painted sign hanging above the door.

"I'd start my search there." The Fortune Teller pointed at the sign, "Ask the shopkeep, _What's their favorite fairy tale?_"

_Fairy tales…? _Fire exploded through her chest and she found it hard to breathe. Panic began to race through her veins. Whirling around, she punched the table clean in two, eyes nearly jumping from their sockets afraid – but also desperate. The fortune teller was gone. She watched the cards trickle down. _Was any of that real? He seemed genuine…but he could've been acting…_

She picked up the cards and stood outside _Two Sun's Sweet Old Books _for what felt like an eternity. Finally, steeling her nerves she pushed through the door, and saw strange creatures waddling around the store. Their skin was green, both nose and ears made a point, and they had the pupils of a toad.

"Welcome to Two Sun's Sweet Old Books." A man came out of the back and took a deep inhale. He smelt something, something he hadn't expected to smell…

"Your name is Two Sun?" Pyrrha asked.

"Well actually my name is _Tukson_. But everybody kept pronouncing it _Tucson_, and then it became _Two_ _Sun_. I got tired of correcting it."

Pyrrha nodded then remembered what The Fortune Teller told her, "Two Sun, what's your favorite fairy tale?"

"Fairy Tales, huh?" Two Sun stroked his chin, his eyes wondered to the scar on in her cleavage and connected the dots. "The fairy tales here are a lot different than where I'm from."

He snapped his fingers and one of the green creatures brought him a tome. The covers where a polished chrome and the pages were metal too. Before Pyrrha even touched the book, she pointed at the creature.

"Oh! They're goblins, on loan from a friend helping me bring in the latest shipment from The Great Library."

Pyrrha nodded watching the goblins shelve the books, "How much is the book?"

Two Sun wrapped the book up with a tiny piece of rope and made a little bow, "On the house."

"Oh, why thank you!" Pyrrha smiled and left the bookstore.

Two Sun smiled, she may not remember, but he did as if it were yesterday. Time is more…fluid here…he hadn't thought about Tukson in years…

He never thought he'd see someone else in this place. His smile faltered when he realized she came here the same way he did. He rubbed his eyes before the tears could fall, he made his choices and could accept that he was here. But she still had her whole life a head of her…

"Two Sun?" An older goblin waddled into the store, "You okay?"

"Yeah." Two Sun quickly answered, "Yeah, I just saw someone I hadn't expected to see. I'm fine now, Squee."

"Well come on then, I got one more box in the carriage, and we can't get it out."

"Be right there."

* * *

It was just about that time to regroup with Thane. She found him loading the carriage. Replacing the pelts were bags of rice.

"Hey Thane." Pyrrha started loading the rest of the bags.

"Yeah?"

"What's 'The Great Library'?"

"Which one?"

Pyrrha blinked.

"Right…well there are Seven Great Libraries. Metal, Dragons, Angels, Demons, The Sister of Light, The Darkness, Monsters."

"Aren't Dragons and Monsters the same thing?"

"Except dragons have their own empire, well Tiamant did…"

"Did? Who is Tiamat?" Pyrrha dodged his other question.

"More like who _was _she." Thane sighed, "Long before the Moons created angel and man, they made the first beasts. Each one made a dragon and gave them a territory."

Pyrrha flipped through the book Two Sun gave her and found maps where each dragon ruled.

"But…like all other creatures they were greedy and ambitious. They weren't satisfied with their territories, so they tried taking others. Afraid their creations would consume the world, but the moons couldn't bring themselves to destroy their precious creations. So, they made one to rule them all: Tiamat."

Pyrrha found a page with a dragon with five heads, each one a different color.

"Peace wouldn't be the word I'd use…but Tiamat kept the others in line…sort of. They couldn't do anything to her at the moment, so they began stockpiling. Any humans were turned into soldiers, dragon-spawn generals were appointed, and they waited. The White Dragons had soldiers, Blue had monks, Green had tribesmen, Red had alchemists, and Purple had cannibals. Now they just had to wait."

"Why not just kill Tiamat themselves?" Pyrrha asked.

"Because she was a goddess, she'd just reincarnate. They had to wait for something big, and something big happened. My great grandfather, Thane the Kinslayer, killed her. Not just killed; he knew about the recreation. So, he took her blood, fire, flesh, bones, he even took her scream, and turned her into a suit of armor. With her soul bound to it, she was unable to reincarnate."

"Why would he do that?" Pyrrha turned the page and found a picture of a man on a throne in a suit of armor resembling dragon skulls.

"That is a story for another time." Thane shook his head, "With Tiamat "dead" and Bahamut nowhere to be found, the elders of each dragon and their heirs met. As expected, a fight broke out for dominance, and in the midst of all the fighting the green elders lost their heir. When that happened the green elders and their tribes retreated to their forest. Fearing the loss of theirs the Blue elders and their monks withdrew to their mountains. The Reds weren't front line fighters, they knew they wouldn't last a minute against White or Purple. The last two started a war that lasted a century. It ended when they each took the other's seat of power. They traded them back and with that ended the war."

"Just like that?" Pyrrha reached the end of the book.

"Just like that." Thane nodded, "Purple would take a territory, White took it back. Vice versa. That was their whole war. They were tired, their generals exhausted, and countless of their men were dead. My guess? They just wanted to go home."

"Sort of anticlimactic don't you think?" Pyrrha closed the book.

"You tell me after you spend a solid one-hundred years waging a war you'll never win." Thane shrugged.

"Where are the dragons now?"

"Some say they're extinct. Codswallop if you ask me." Thane looked at sky, "I say they're still out there, waiting…"

"Waiting for what?"

"For the right moment."

Pyrrha closed the book then stared at it, "So, The Great Libraries just give their books away?"

"Gods be praised no; they have hordes of caretakers that transcribe the ancient tomes. The copies are what the shopkeepers sell, mostly."

"Mostly?"

"There are some more restricted items. Forbidden spells and the like, ancient practices that are now outlawed, the usual."

"Is it possible to go to one?"

"To one of The Great Libraries? Sure, the Metal Library is at Stormhaven."

"That's convenient."

"Well, it only makes sense that the library be in the oldest castle in the Metallands. Ready to go?"

Pyrrha nodded, she decided to sit in the back and stretch her legs. She poked her fingers through Hunter's cage and gave the middle head a little scratch. Now it was a straight ride to Stormhaven, she pulled out the book and cracked open its cover.

_And it is written that with a gathering of ferries a pillar of fire will enter the mortal plain when the moons abandon the sky, through a plave of unholy carnage, and through the fire will stand a pale horse, and she that sat atop him carried a scythe. When she has risen, they too shall rose, and from her and through her._

Pyrrha chuckled, she felt a wave of nostalgia wash over her. No wonder this book was meant for children. She could only imagine a younger version of herself re-enacting the old tale. Or Ruby maybe…

Pyrrha gasped as she shot up, who was Ruby? How did she know that name? What did that name mean to her?

"Oh, good you're awake!" Thane beamed, "You're just in time, the moons are about to rise."

Pyrrha adjusted to see the suns setting creating a gorgeous purple twilight. She rested her head on the railing as the darkness consumed the sky.

Something tickled the back of Pyrrha's mind as a white moon rose, it was whole…that wasn't right for reasons outside her explanation. That train of thought quickly derailed when a red moon rose in the night sky. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out as a blue moon joined the others. She fisted her eyes hoping it was a trick when a fourth green moon rose. Just when Pyrrha thought it couldn't get any weirder, three purple fragments that used to be a whole moon joined the others.

"Takes your breath away doesn't it?" Thane smiled at the sight.

Pyrrha fainted in the back.

"Not again…" Thane sighed.


	3. I Know What You Did Last Summer

Thane sighed against the silence as the carriage approached Stormhaven. He looked back to make sure Pyrrha was still there, and she was…unconscious right next to Hunter. He tried sniffing her through the bars but none of his heads could reach her.

"Pyrrha." He reached down to shake her shoulder, "We're here."

Pyrrha stirred before poking her head above the carriage's seat. Her jaw dropped at the sight of the fortress coming into view.

Stormhaven was an enormous stronghold extending across many acres of land, defended by two layers of strong granite walls. The outer walls were at least 80 feet tall and the inner had to be 100 feet tall.

As they passed over the drawbridge, she looked over the side to see a wide moat with sharpened spears in the running waters. She scanned the inner walls as best he could and found that they were crenellated with more than thirty watchtowers built into them. The outer walls had guard turrets built into them. All the windows were diamond-shaped panes of glass.

The more ground they covered she made a rather interesting discovery: whoever built this castle never leveled the ground, meaning that the castle complex spanned several hills and valleys, which could only mean that some of the older buildings have slanting and sloped floors.

She searched for any evidence to prove her theory and found a covered bridge which connected the fourth floor of the bell tower to the second floor of the rookery, with the two buildings raising out of different sections of hillside.

"How many entrances are there?" Pyrrha asked spotting another gate.

"Planning a siege, are we?" Thane smirked, "The main gatehouse consists of two large crenellated bulwarks, and drawbridge opens onto the market square of the StormTown outside, but the Hunter's Gate on the opposite side of the castle opens directly onto open fields and is favored by hunting parties. The East Gate in the inner walls opens onto the King's Gate of the outer walls. However, that gate that you're staring at leads to the Shrine Forest."

"Shrine Forest?"

Thane nodded, "My sister erected five acres, each one to hold a Moon Shrine. It is in those woods where our ancestors rest. We have a crypt for more royal burials, but that's a more recent addition. Several hundred years old, but you get the idea."

They stopped inside the stables, servants came out of the woodworks and back to unhook the horses and unload the carriage. Thane lead Pyrrha inside the main keep as the servants took the falcons and Hunter to the kennels.

He led her to a pair of simple wooden doors. When first entering there was a king-sized canopy bed and a smaller twin bed right next to it. In the middle of the room was a feasting table and benches. Across from the table were two more twin beds. Turning back around there were two golden mechanisms separated by a wooden wall.

"What are these?" Pyrrha examined them. The first machine had a bowl coming out of the floor and a pipe coming out of the wall with a red lever. She turned the lever and an arc of water shot out just enough to land in the bowl. She quickly turned the lever and shut the water off.

The second mechanism was attached to a stone chair built into the floor with a hole in it. There was a button on the back rest, when she pressed it a cyclone of water filled the bottom before finally settling.

"Oh!" Pyrrha smirked with realization. Something was amiss, she tilted her head as she focused on the machines. They should be smaller and white…but just as the thought came to her, it left her.

She turned around to see a small staircase leading to a pool of water about thigh deep. There were spider heads lining the walls, and one five headed dragon spout coming out of the wall. The necks all twisted, and the heads all came together in the middle. Pyrrha saw a a chain pulley next to the staircase and made the connection on what it was for.

"This is a guest room?" Pyrrha asked Thane stepping away from the pool.

"You're the guest of a King." Thane shrugged, "Would you expect anything less?"

"I don't know. I've never been the guest of royalty."

Thane pointed to a wardrobe in the corner opposite the door, "If you want a change of clothes. Plenty of my sisters' clothes in there, something will definitely fit you."

Thane closed the door leaving Pyrrha to change. She opened the dresser revealing a wide array of dresses. The way each one caressed her hand, these had to be the finest silks in the province.

She found a daring black and gold one, there was so little fabric she didn't even think it was a dress. She looked at herself in the mirror and held the dress in front of her.

_Maybe… _she wondered. Maybe if she wore something like this a certain knight would notice her. _Thane? No! _She blushed staring at herself with the dress. _No…someone else…_she touched her fingers to her lips, almost tasting something or someone…

_A different knight…_

The dress lowered revealing the scar. A trembling hand drifted toward the scar but quickly yanked away almost as if it burned.

_Remembering something Pyrrha? _A sickly voice cackled.

Pyrrha frowned and returned the dress. She stripped off the armor and stepped into the pool. Pulling the chain for water to rain from the dragons' mouths.

The water made her pale skin shine like the White Moon, her ebony hands trailed through her scarlet locks, those same locks clung to her every delicious curve. Turning off the shower she rested her hand on the wall behind the lever.

Looking through one more time she found a black and silver the gown was a smooth black taffeta accented with a silver ornate brocade in a damask pattern. The front panel, sleeves, and hood all had the brocade. It was roomy and wide, the hood ended in a point, and the flared sleeves could be worn down or cinched up with its integrated strings. The front lacing was adjustable to help achieve the perfect fit.

The sleeves and the front were what really sold her on the dress. She found a pair of silver gloves to hide her hands and she adjusted the front to cover her scar.

Exiting the room, she found Thane leaning against the opposite wall.

"You look lovely." He smiled.

"Thank you." Pyrrha smiled back, "Where to now?"

"My sisters are usually in their chambers. We can start there."

Thane led Pyrrha back through the courtyard to a grand tower. It had to be the tallest watchtower in all Stormhaven. Although something was off however, the top half of the tower's stones looked new.

"Is this new?"

"Of sorts, when The Twins were born, lightning struck the tower. Father thought is was a sign and he rebuilt the tower and turned it into their personal chambers."

The top of the tower was a rounded room lined with goat horn sconces. There were five braziers with five fires coloured after the moons scattered around the room, until she looked down and saw an iron sigil nailed into the floor with the braziers completing the design. There was a simple feather bed, bookshelves, and there was a table with a skull in the center…

Ironically noticing that before noticing the person standing above it.

"Pyrrha." Thane introduced, "I'd like you to meet one of the twins, Hannah."

"Charmed, I'm sure." Hannah floated toward them reaching out with one hand, but Pyrrha went past her hand and took her forearm, subtly looking the woman up and down, measuring her in a way that felt all too natural.

Hannah raised an eyebrow and did the same. Pyrrha was extremely beautiful, if perhaps a bit too tall for many young men, but it was a rarity to find someone just as tall as Thane. Her handshake was strong and firm, the way she walked, the way she carried herself, she's had a warrior's training, even more of a rarity.

"Welcome." Hannah took the hems of her dress and quickly executed a perfect curtsy, even in midair.

Pyrrha hesitated before grabbing the hems of her dress and trying to mimic Hannah.

Thane and Hannah glanced at each other before she reeled back, "That's got to be the worst curtsy I've ever seen. Here it's not that hard I could do it upside down when I was four." She lifted her dress again, "Just straighten your back and bend." Pyrrha did it again, "Almost perfect, you learn fast." Thane caught Hannah's little smirk before floating away.

Hannah had pure sapphire hair reaching her shoulders, but it turned green as it reached her lower back. She wore a blue corset with multilayer dress with odd symbols sewn into the skirts. She wore an armor belt with a spider for the centerpiece. Pyrrha tilted her head seeing three large tomes bound in chains on her belt.

"Brother." Hannah floated to him.

Pyrrha stared at her feet in amazement; that they never touched the ground.

"You're a right foul git you know that?" Hannah slapped him, "You left without saying goodbye."

"Never say goodbye." Thane ruffled her hair, "Because saying goodbye means going away, and going away means forgetting."

Hannah huffed and crossed her arms, she looked over Pyrrha, "Get on the bed."

"What?" Pyrrha asked.

"You've lost your memories. I'm a Sorceress, dear, I can tell what's going on with you. Now get on the bed."

Pyrrha reluctantly laid on the bed. Hannah unchained one of her tomes. The cover was dark purple, it had the front half of a human skull, the borders were bones, the spine was a spine, and it was clasped shut with a skeletal hand.

Hannah pried back the fingers sealing the book closed and began flipping through the pages. A stool and table levitated next to her, placing the book on the table, Pyrrha's head was surrounded by purple glyphs forming a box. She flinched into the bed and nearly tore the bedsheets with her nails.

Thane and Hannah shared a quick glance at her reaction. Thane moved a stool next to her hand took her hand. Pyrrha nearly broke his hand when he took it. Again, the two siblings shared a glance, but they continued the spell.

Two more appeared around Hannah's hands as one of her eyes became blue and the other purple.

_Magic? Was this real magic?_

"Nice and relaxed." Hannah tapped two fingers in the center of Pyrrha's forehead turning her of eyes solid blue. Her voice began to distort in Pyrrha's ears, "I'm going to count down from five to zero. When we're at zero, the spell begins. As I count down, just go deeper and deeper, okay? 5…4…3…2…1…deep sleep." Hannah closed Pyrrha's eyes. "Deep sleep. Every muscle calm and relaxed."

* * *

Pyrrha woke up inside Thane's cabin, something was different about it though. She couldn't smell anything; she opened the door and saw the Snow Sea.

_Can you hear me? _Hannah's voice whispered along the winds.

"I can hear you."

_Good, how do you feel?_

"Weird. What are you doing to me?"

_I am inducing a spell directly into your brain. It's meant to increase focus and memory retrieval._

_Make you dance like a chicken too._ Thane's voice whispered.

Pyrrha smiled.

_Thane is done talking now._ Hannah rolled her eyes, _just relax, and let go of all intrusive thoughts. Focus on your breathing._

Pyrrha took a deep breath then released it.

_Good now what do you see?_

Pyrrha looked around and only saw snow, "Just snow, Thane's cabin."

_You're in the Snow Sea, what else do you see? Do you see a road?_

"A road?"

_It's called the Axis Mundi. It's the point where the 13 Heavens meet the earth, but we use it as a pathway in our minds. Everyone perceives it differently, some people see a tunnel or a river, but commonly it's a road. _

"I don't see anything I just see snow."

_It might be because of your…condition. Your mind is broken which is why the Axis is hidden. Start walking._

"Where?"

_Anywhere, let your instincts guide you._

Pyrrha nodded and started into the Snow Sea. Eventually she found the crater Thane found her in. She stepped into it and fell through the earth and entered a dark underground chamber. The walls were smooth, and the lights were artificial.

"Hannah? I think I found the Axis…"

_Good. Follow it._

"I…I don't want to…"

Something was at the end of this hallway. Something that she never wanted to go back to. Something that changed her life and not for the better. She looked up at the hole, but it was soon covered up.

_The only way to know who you are is down the Axis._

Pyrrha's hand hovered over her chest, "I think it's how I…"

Hannah began to speak but a thunderous applause drowned her out. The applause grew louder until she turned around and a tsunami of people picked her up and carried her down the hall. As she was carried, she could make out what they were saying, they were chanting her name.

"No!" Pyrrha was thrown inside a glass cage. Connected to a series of tubes and unknown machinery. An orange aura surrounded Pyrrha before she released a bloodcurdling scream.

* * *

Thane jumped back as her screams echoed through Stormhaven. He regained his composure as Pyrrha began to pound in front of her like a mime in a box. At once her joints began to bend in on themselves, she thrashed side-to-side and began to twitch wildly, her vocal cords had given out, and her mouth hung open in a silent scream.

"Pyrrha!" A nasally voice called out.

Hannah and Thane whirled around but no one was there.

"I'm…" Another voice spoke, this one was older, "So…sorry."

"Who are you Pyrrha?" Hannah asked.

"It hurts! Make it stop! I changed my mind! I don't want to be a maiden!"

"Calm down. What's a maiden?"

"Hannah pull her out already!" Thane objected.

Her screams resumed as the flames rose to the ceiling and anything metal began to twist.

"Pyrrha calm down, you're safe."

"I don't want to be a maiden! Help me!"

"Hannah!" Thane shoved his sister, but she didn't break the spell.

Darkness shrouded the room and the sickly voice cackled throughout.

"Wake on the count of five!" Hannah summoned the two glyphs to her hands.

"Pyrrha!" Thane reached for her.

"Thane, don't!" Hannah was too late; Pyrrha lashed out and flung him into the wall.

"Help me Jau-!"

"Wake in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5." She slammed the glyphs together ending the spell.

Pyrrha calmed and her breathing slowly returned to normal. The flames died down, and the metals began to untwist. They were back in Hannah's room.

"Pyrrha?" Hannah caressed her cheek.

"What happened?" Pyrrha asked.

"Do you remember anything?"

Pyrrha shook her head.

Hannah clicked her tongue and closed her tome, "I'm sorry Pyrrha. Why don't you go get something to eat? You look famished."

Pyrrha looked at her almost with a glare. Thane smiled and took her hand again, "I'll explain everything later okay? I just need a moment with Hannah."

"Okay." Pyrrha exited the room. She had no idea where to go, so she slumped on the opposite wall and slid to the ground.

* * *

"Are you really going to let them do that to you?" A voice whispered to her.

Pyrrha turned around, she didn't remember there being these many voices in her head before. "My name is Kai, I'm Hannah's twin sister. Now, are you not curious as to what their talking about?"

"Of course, I am!" Pyrrha snapped, "But they asked for privacy." She rubbed her face and sighed, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, I heard the screams from my room."

_They're weren't any rooms close by…_ Pyrrha thought, _so unrepentant just like…_ she saw a flash of orange hair, she tried to hold onto this memory, but it melted like the snow.

"And you're giving it to them? They're discussing what they just found inside your head and you're letting them do that without you?"

"What else should I do?"

"Listen in."

"Eavesdrop?"

"You make it sound so scandalous. That's adorable. Come on have a listen."

Pyrrha shifted in place, she didn't want to, but she wanted to know what they found. She bent over and pressed her ear to the door.

"You won't hear anything important like that."

"What I am supposed to do then?"

"Close your eyes."

"I've been doing that a lot lately."

"One more time shouldn't be a problem then."

Pyrrha sighed and closed her eyes.

"Cast aside your sight, cast aside what you see, and instead reach out with your perceptions."

Pyrrha rested her hand on the door, "I still don't hear anything."

"Then let me help you." Pyrrha felt a hand on top of hers. "Huh."

"What?"

"Your connection to The Void has been severed. That's probably why the spell isn't working."

"The Void?"

"We come from The Void in birth and we return to it in death. The Void energies however don't leave us, they're dormant inside us waiting for someone to wake them up. Yours however, they seemed to have awoken, then suddenly shattered. Curious."

"I'm sorry, but what's curious?"

"Normally one just has to wait for their energies to return to them or take a potion to instantly reinvigorate them. But yours have seem to repressed themselves. It's not unheard of, I've just never seen it in person before…seems like whatever gave you that scar was more traumatic than we realized."

"Can…can you fix it?" She asked finally opening her eyes. Kai was a twin in every sense of the word, except for her hair. Hannah's turned green halfway down her sapphire locks, Kai's turned white like Thane's.

"Sure! I just use my already awakened energies on your dormant ones. Father did the same thing when we were babies. Just take my hands."

Pyrrha did and gasped when Kai's veins began to glow blue. The light began to recede and began to flow into Pyrrha. Her veins began to glow before it suddenly stopped.

"Ah…" Kai smiled, "You hear it. It is faint…but it is there."

"What is happening?"

"It is the Void you feel…it has not been so long as for you to forget."

Pyrrha did feel something familiar, but something was off about it. "But it doesn't feel like it did…it feels like it is coming from across a great distance."

"Do not turn away from it. Listen…feel it echoing within you. Let's try one more time."

Pyrrha put her hand on the door and Kai laid hers on top.

"Once again cast aside your sight, cast aside what you see, and instead reach out with your perceptions. Feel the Void inside you and use it."

"You felt that too, didn't you?" Hannah asked Thane.

"I can hear!" Pyrrha bounced.

"Good!" Kai congratulated, "Now keep focusing."

"I did…" Thane nodded, "It felt like she wasn't there for a moment, like she was an echo. She's had a warrior's training…war effects everyone differently…many lose themselves in battle."

"Come on, you felt it as much as I did. She's lost herself; she walked Nenvaa's path and she was not strong enough!"

"I did not sense Nenvaa's influence within her. Surely you felt it too, that emptiness."

Hannah chewed the inside of her cheek, "Whatever that wound was…it was of Nenvaa's doing."

"What would you have done, Hannah!? Be mindful of your feelings! This was not Wilhelm that stood before you! Pyrrha…she walks a different path."

"Wherever she was before you found her should have been her grave. You saw it in her walk, in the echoes of the Void, it's as if she's already dead…"

"No…" Thane defied, "Not death. Many battles remain within her. The future is ever changing, and she cuts like a blade through it. If what we all felt is true…I'll talk to her."

Kai tore her hand off the door, "Come on."

* * *

Pyrrha didn't have a chance to respond before Kai yanked her along the hall. Kai was surprisingly strong and fast given her size. She took Pyrrha across the castle in record time, opening the door to a stone training circle.

Kai beamed at the circle, but Pyrrha shrugged. For reasons she couldn't explain, the training room was quite quaint, it gave her a feeling of nostalgia. Almost as if she hadn't seen something like this since she was a child.

Looking beyond the dummies she saw weapons of all sorts on racks and hung along the walls. Many were practical: daggers, swords, axes, maces, great swords, battle axes, war hammers. Others were less so…these were either made of materials she couldn't make sense of, had a bafflingly impractical design, or so huge they were almost comical.

"Welcome to the Training Yard." Kai spread her arms, "If Thane has half a brain, he'll make his way here to find you."

Pyrrha looked around and saw training dummies in various positions around the room with varying degrees of damages done to them.

She saw three dummies shoulder to shoulder with slashes and bashes, "Melee." Another three each one was a good distance behind each other, "Ranged." The final three dummies were odd, "Those look brand new, are they?"

"Of sorts." Kai nodded, "This is where we practice our offensive spells. The dummies don't normally survive."

"Only when you two practice against them." Thane walked in, "So Pyrrha, found your way to the Training Yard I see."

"She brought me here." Pyrrha gestured to Kai who just innocently shrugged in response.

"I awakened her Void Energies."

"Oh?" Thane turned to Pyrrha, "You want to be a sorceress? Funny, I pegged you as a warrior."

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked.

"Kai and Hannah are Blue Moons."

Pyrrha just stared at him blankly. Kai was a little take back by this, even a newborn knew what the Five Moons were.

"The Five Moons determine who someone will be when they're born. I was born under the White Moon Faraxion, the moon of Strength and Endurance, all warriors are born under Faraxion."

"But you said they were Blue Moons?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yriscox." Kai took over, "The Blue Moon of Magic. We have a more magical edge than my fist for a brain brother."

"I CAN use magic thank you very much." Thane clarified.

"Fine." Kai sighed, "Anyone can use magic, but it varies from moon to moon. For example…" Kai snapped her fingers and three ghost swords surrounded her, "I can summon weapons, Fist brain can augment them."

Thane sighed but called his sword anyway. His eyes turned white as he approached the training dummy. He swung his sword only once, but the dummy reacted as if it were hit seven times before finally shattering, spraying hay everywhere.

"Oh yeah." Kai rolled her eyes, "Only when Hannah or I use them."

"Can you do what Kai did to me?" Pyrrha asked.

"The Awakening?" Thane asked and she nodded, "I mean, I can, but why?"

"Wouldn't you awaken the warrior energies or something." Pyrrha poked her fingers together trying to find the rights words and not sound like a fool.

Thane and Kai looked at each other, "Maybe?"

"I suppose it couldn't hurt." Kai thought it over, "I mean I don't see why it wouldn't work, and if it doesn't it's not like we wasted anything."

Thane opened his hands and motioned for Pyrrha to take them. As she approached Thane's veins began to glow white. She took his hands and smiled as his fingers enveloped hers. The light slowly began to recede once and again and flow into her.

"How do you feel?" Thane asked once the light settled in her veins.

"I want to fight." Pyrrha practically vibrated, "I want to fight right now!"

"Choose your weapons then." Thane chuckled as he sat on the edge of the stone ring.

Pyrrha walked over to a weapon rack and the dress tugged at her feet. Without thinking she took a dagger and cut the dress three-quarters way up her thigh.

"She needs the full rotation of her hips." Thane blushed profusely.

"I'm sure that's what you're thinking about." Kai rolled her eyes.

She bent forward and flexed tearing the seems around her shoulders and back.

"Noelle's gonna kill her…" Kai practically sang.

"She hasn't worn that thing in years." Thane admired Pyrrha's new look.

"Doesn't mean she'll like her stuff getting ruined." Kai smacked her brother upside the head, "And stop looking for Heavens' sake."

Pyrrha looked back at all the commotion, how red Thane's face was, and Kai's general reaction. Pyrrha looked at her legs, this was all too familiar for her, why was Thane acting that way? She ripped off the sleeves and continued to browse the weaponry.

She found a bracer with a heavy piece of metal attached to it. Trying it on felt familiar, then she flexed and four flat poles shot out from the original piece, then curved pieces connected them forming a shield. She relaxed her arm and the shield collapsed back into its original form. She did it a few times counting how long it took to form and how much muscle tension was needed to activate it.

"She found Bianca's Shield." Thane observed, "She's got the technique down."

"Fast learner." Kai commented, "Almost forgives ruining Noelle's dress."

Thane sighed rubbing his forehead against the pommel of his sword.

Pyrrha continued looking at the weapons and found a lance. She began to reach for it before she stopped herself, a lance was too long. Continuing down the line she found a spear, that was perfect, the next weapon rack had swords…

She held the spear in one hand and the sword in the other. _This feels right, but also not. Maybe if they were together, the whole thing would be metal, and it could shift between sword and spear. _Pyrrha didn't know which was more ridiculous, a weapon that could double as another or that the more she thought about it, the more the idea made sense…

The sword felt better in her hand after all, she returned the spear and entered the ring. Thane stood up and prepared to fight, he thought about materializing his armor but Pyrrha had none, so he stayed in his.

"Ready?" Thane asked.

"Set." Pyrrha lowered herself into a stance.

"Go!" Kai yelled jumping out of the ring.

Thane and Pyrrha charged and clashed swords. Thane would swing and Pyrrha would meet his with hers. Not giving him anytime to recover she swung, but even with the size of the great sword Thane was remarkably fast with it and met her blade. This time however he used enough force for her to feel it.

Pyrrha found herself smiling, she was having fun! This feeling felt almost foreign to her, almost as if she hadn't felt it in so long. She thrust her blade forward with a new strategy in mind. She deflected Thane's next strike, but when he came back instead of meeting him with sword, she expanded her shield and blocked. But it was as if he expected that as he grabbed his blade to apply more pressure.

Even as Pyrrha began to sink into the ground, the joyous fire in her belly became a raging inferno. She pushed him off with her shield and thrusted forward, Thane sidestepped and pushed her sword away with his open hand.

Pyrrha whirled around with both shield and sword raised. Thane tightened his grip and white lightning began to dance around Storm's Eye.

"You're not about to take this that, far are you?" Kai's question fell on deaf ears.

His eyes turned solid white and a pair of ivory horns sprouted from his head.

"Shit, he is." Kai jumped into the ring and ran between them, "Enough!"

"Kai!" Thane yelled.

"We we're just getting started!" Pyrrha voiced her objection rather loudly.

Kai raised an eyebrow at her, Thane began to chuckle before bursting into laughter. The lightning faded, his eyes returned to normal, and his horns retreated into his head. Pyrrha realizing this was the end of the match collapsed her shield and sheathed her sword.

"I guess we'll settle this another time." Thane got his laughter under control, "Until then, I want to see more, how about we take a little trip to The Arena?"

Pyrrha's breath hitched and her grip on her blade significantly tightened. Part of her wanted to go, she yearned for the heat and excitement of battle, but the other part of her could only think of the crowd carrying forcing her into the cage and most likely her death.

Thane immediately saw this and held his hands up, "We don't have to go. It was just a suggestion."

"No, no." Pyrrha objected, "I want to go, I…I need to go."

"You're a warrior, there's nothing wrong with wanting a good fight." Thane shrugged, "Though my Awakening may have worked a little too well."

Pyrrha chuckled, "Doesn't always go like that?"

"For White Moons sure." Thane shrugged, "I was told I broke Father's nose when he did The Awakening."

"I want to go." Pyrrha nodded.

"Are you sure?"

"I think it's the best lead we have to getting my memories back."

Thane tilted his head, "Once again: are you sure? Just mentioning it almost sent you back there."

Pyrrha nodded, "Even if it's a bad memory is still a memory. Maybe if we uncover all the bad ones…"

"Only the good ones remain." Thane finished for her, "They say the arena is a place of Blood, Sand, and Secrets. Maybe some of your secrets are there too."

"How does that even make sense?" Kai whispered to herself.

"If you're hesitate during a fight, I'm jumping in."

"What?" Pyrrha and Kai asked.

"Blood is the first in the saying for a reason. Many die in the arena, don't be one of them."

"I've already died once; I don't plan on doing that again."

"Then you need some armor, let's go to the armory and get you fitted for some." Thane gestured to her legs.

Pyrrha looked down then started to follow, "What's wrong with my legs?"


End file.
